Free roofing estimate template

What should a roofing estimate include?

A roof estimate that leaves a line off is a roof estimate you finish out of your own pocket. These are the lines that belong on every one.

• Measured squares - footprint area, the pitch factor applied, and the waste percentage shown separately so the customer sees the math
• Tear-off by layer - one layer, two, or three, priced per square, because the second layer is the one that eats a day
• Decking allowance - a unit rate per sheet and a written note that rot is found only after tear-off, never a flat guess
• Underlayment and ice and water shield - type, and exactly where the ice barrier runs: eaves, valleys, around penetrations, and how far up from the wall line
• Flashing - step flashing at walls, counter flashing, chimney, skylights, pipe boots, and whether each is new or reused
• Ventilation - ridge vent linear feet, intake at the soffit, and any box or turbine vents, since intake is what most re-roofs get wrong
• Drip edge and starter - gauge, color, and the starter course at eaves and rakes
• Dumpster, permit, and cleanup - the container size and placement, the permit fee as a pass-through, and a magnet sweep of the yard and driveway
• Labor per square - your rate, with any steep charge above 8/12 broken out rather than hidden
• Insurance supplement line - present when the job is a claim, so the homeowner knows a supplement is normal and not a price increase
• Exclusions and warranty - what is not in the price, plus workmanship term and the manufacturer warranty on the shingle line specified

How do I turn a roof measurement into a price?

Footprint times pitch factor times waste gets you squares. Squares times your installed rate gets you the price.

Take the footprint from a satellite measurement or a tape on the ground, say 1,800 square feet. A 6/12 pitch multiplies that by 1.118, so the actual roof surface is about 2,012 square feet, or 20.1 squares. Add 12 percent waste on a straightforward hip and you order and price against roughly 22.5 squares. That is the number every other line hangs off.

Then price the two halves separately in your own head, even if the customer sees one rate. Material for a mid-grade architectural shingle system, including underlayment, drip edge, starter, ridge cap and fasteners, commonly runs a couple hundred dollars a square delivered. Labor for install on a walkable pitch commonly runs $75 to $150 per square, and it climbs fast above 8/12. Add tear-off per layer, the dumpster, and the permit, and the all-in number for most residential asphalt work lands in the $350 to $700 per square installed band. Our guide to pricing a roofing job breaks that spread down by material.

Check yourself against price per square before you send it. A 22.5-square job at a $9,800 contract total is $436 a square. If your number comes out at $210 a square, you dropped a line. If it comes out at $900, you either have a slate roof or a math error. That single ratio catches more estimating mistakes than any review.

Which lines on a roofing estimate cause the most disputes?

Four lines cause almost every roofing argument, and all four are solved in writing before the crew arrives.

• Decking - the homeowner heard a price, then got a bill for eleven sheets of plywood. State the unit rate on the estimate, state that rot is invisible until tear-off, and photograph every sheet you replace before you cover it
• The deductible - on an insurance job the homeowner owes their deductible. Say it plainly on the estimate. Waiving it, discounting it, or "eating it" is fraud in most states, and the carrier does check
• Ventilation - a ridge vent with no soffit intake does nothing, and the homeowner will blame the new roof for the same hot attic. Price the intake or write down that it was declined
• Gutters and landscaping - tear-off dents gutters and flattens shrubs. Say who protects what, whether gutter cleanout is included, and that the magnet sweep happens at completion

Two other habits save money. Photograph the roof before you touch it, because storm-damage claims turn on pre-existing condition. And carry the estimate scope into the field verbatim, so the crew installs what was sold. The roofing inspection checklist gives you the pre-job documentation, and Claver for roofing contractors keeps the estimate, the change orders, and the invoice on one record. Pricing starts at $1 for 14 days, then $19/mo.

One standards note worth having in your back pocket: NRCA guidance and most manufacturer instructions treat ice barrier placement, fastener pattern, and ventilation ratio as warranty conditions, not suggestions. OSHA requires fall protection for residential roofing work at six feet. Both cost time, both belong in your labor rate, and neither is optional when an adjuster or an inspector is reading your estimate.